Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
FN 914~400
~9818~
~LECTRICAL _O~ECTOR
The present invention relates to an electrical
connector for connecting insulated wlres and at the same
time providing strain relief therefor to prevent the wire
from being pulled out of the contact element.
The prior art is replete with electrical con-
nectors utilizing slotted electrical contact elements
which strip insulation from an insulated ~lire and make
electrical connection to the wire. Such connectors are
disclosed for example, in United States of America Letters
10 Patent Nos. 3,239,796; 3,434,093; 3,444,506; 3,920,301;
3,924,923; 3,977,754; 3,979,615; and 4,009,922 and Can-
adian Patent No. 1,077,316. Generally, as illustrated in
these patents, thewire parth through the electrical con~
nector passes in a straight line through the contact
15 element. In many applications, to prevent deterioration
of theelectrical connection, the wire must be constrained
on at least one side of the contact element to prevent
strain on the wire which has been weakened by insertlon
into the contact element, and to prevent the wire from
being pulled out of the slot of the contact element.
Straight line wire connectors with strain relief are, how-
ever, very limited in the number of connections that may
be made at one surface of the connector since an entire
straight line across the surface of the connector is oc-
25 cupied in connecting a single wire.
The present invention provides a connector forinsulated electrical wires comprising a body of insulating
.
. .
~ . - .: ~
~ ~)981~39
material having a wire connection well formed into one
surface to recelve a slotted, flat plate, electrical con-
tact element and to closely support the outside edges
of the legs of the contact element. A wlre retentlon
well ls formed lnto the surface of the body ad~acent the
wire connection well for recelpt of an insulated wlre
to be connected and a passageway ~olns the wire retentlon
well to the wire connection well, the passageway extend-
lng from the surface of the body and belng aligned with
the posltion of the slot in a contact element supported
in the wireconnection well. The passageway is constrict-
ed to engage the insulation of a wire to be connected by
a contact element in the wire connection well. A slotted,
flat plate, electrlcal contact element i8 positioned ln
the wire connection well of the body with the open end
of its slot ad~acent the surface of the body to receive
and strip insulation from an insulated wire forced into
the wire connectlon well. In use, an insulated wire is
forced into the slot of the contact element in the wire
connection well and simultaneously into the passageway
and the wire retention well and is then bent and exits
from the connector from the wire retentlon well. The
contact element, closely supported by the walls of the
wlre connection well, effectively strips insulation
from the wire to make electrical contact to the wire whlle
the passageway walls engage the wire insulation and the
wire is bent in passing from the passageway and out of the
wire retentlon well to provide strain relief for the con-
nected wire.
- ' '; ~ .
~9~
-- 3 --
In the Drawing Figure 1 is a perspec~ive view,
partially in section, of an electrical connector construct-
ed in accordance with the present invention; Flgure 2 is a
partial plan vlew of the electrical connector of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken generally along
line 3-3 of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a cross sectional
view taken generally along line 4-4 of Figure 2.
The electrical connector of the present invention
comprises a body 10 of insulating material and at least one
slotted, flat plate, spring compression reserve electrical
contact element 12.
The body 10 is formed with wire connection wells
14 formed into onesurface 15. The wire connection wells
14 are all the same and each is formed to recelve a con-
tact element 12. The illustrated wire connectlon wells 14are rectangular ln cross section and two opposed walls
are formed with recesses 16 to define a slot across the
wire connectlon well for reception of a slotted flat
plate contact element 12 with the edges of the legs 18
of the element in the recesses 16 and closely ad~acent
the vertical walls of the recesses 16 so that the outside
edges of the legs of the contact element 12 are closely
supported.
Two similar wire retention wells 20 and 21 are
formed into the surface 15 of the body 10, one ad~acent
each of the opposed walls that do not have the recesses
16. Similar passageways 23 extending lnto the surface 15
of the body 10 connect each of the wire retentlon wells 20
.. . . .
.. . ~.
~ 4 --
and 21 to a wire connectlon well 14. The passageways 23
are aligned with the slot 25 in the contact element 12
and are constrlcted to engage the insulation o~ a wire 26
to be connected by a contact element 12 in a wire connec-
tlon well 14.
In the illustrated embodiment, the connector is
formed with a plurality of wire connection wells 14 ar-
ranged in four parallel rows and five parallel columns
that are perpendicular to the rows. The connector wells
14 are turned at an angle to the rows and columns so that
the flat plate contact elements 12 are at an angle Or
about 15 to the rows and columns to more efficiently
utilize the space on the surface 15 of the connector
while providing sufficlent material between wlre con-
nection wells 14 to support the outside edges of the legs
18 of the contact elements 12.
The illustrated connector body is apertured at
the base of each Or the wells 14 through the body and the
contact elements 12 extend through the body and are formed
at their ends opposite surface 15 as knife connector
elements 28. These knife connector elements 28 are of the
type illustrated ln U.S. Patent No. 2,664,552 for con-
nection with fork elements such as illustrated and describ-
ed in that patent. Between the ~lotted end and the knife
connector end 28, each element 12 ls ~ormed with a central
resllient tab 30 that deflects out of the plane of the
contact element to engage a ledge 32 in the aperture through
the body 10 when the element is inserted into the insulat-
ing body ~rom the knife element surface to prevent removal
:. . .: : :
; : . - . . ,-, . ,
,:
-, , : .
.
.
~9Bi~
of the element. To position the slotted ends of the
elements in positions inclined to their rows and columns
on surface 15 while positioning the knife elements in
parallel rows and columns, the flat plate contact is
twisted at 33 as lt is inserted into the body aperture.
In use, an lnsulated wire may be forced into a
wire connection well 14 by a tool that bridges the con-
tact element 12 and simultaneously forces the wire into a
passageway 23 and at least one wire retention well 20 or
21. The contact element 12 strips insulation from the wire
26 to make electrical contact to the wire while the
walls of the passageway 23 engage insulation on the wire
and the wire is bent in passing from the passageway and
out of the wlre retentlon well to provide straln relief
for the connected wlre. As illustrated in Figure 1, one
end Or the wlre 26 may be cut off in the wire connection
well 14 so that the wire runs from the contact element
through onep~ssageway 23 and out of one wire retention
well 20. Alternatively it may be desired to continue
the wire to another connection in which case the wire
may extend into one wire retentlon well 20 through the
wlre connection well 14 and out the other wlre retention
well 21 and be strain relieved in both passageways 23
and by the bends into and out of the wells 20 and 21.
.
